Sections of new Ricoti Pass road to open this year - Infrastructure Minister
A total of 24 tunnels have been dug in the area with three already operational, the Ministry said, noting 30 of 88 bridges had also been completed, with traffic opened on six. Photo: Georgian Infrastructure Ministry
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Sections of the new Rikoti Pass road will be opened this year, with the construction of the new Rikoti Highway set to be completed in 2023, Infrastructure Minister Irakli Karseladze said on Wednesday.
Following his inspection of the ongoing works, the Minister also noted the East-West corridor crossing the country would become “more attractive” for international shipments following the completion of the project and would play a “vital” role in economic growth of the country. He said the project was becoming “even more relevant” due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and resulting complications for regional logistics.
Karseladze called the construction of the Highway the “project of the century”, saying the Rikoti segment was the “most challenging and important” of the corridor.
More than 4,000 workers are currently employed in the construction project, with about 68 percent being Georgian citizens. Photo: Georgian Infrastructure Ministry
The official also said the ongoing works on all tunnels at the spot were proceeding according to plan, noting the construction of several tunnels had already been completed and adding the installation of the “longest unique metal bridge” was underway.
A total of 24 tunnels have been dug in the area with three already operational, the Ministry said, noting 30 of 88 bridges had also been completed, with traffic opened on six.
Georgian Infrastructure Minister Irakli Karseladze reviewed the country’s international road network and its development plans at Connecting Europe Days 2022, Europe’s mobility flagship event held in Lyon, France, the Ministry announced on Thursday.
Construction works on 88 bridges and 51 tunnels are “actively underway” at the Rikoti Pass, a mountain section dividing Georgia into its eastern and western parts, the Roads Department announced on Tuesday.
Construction is underway for the Kvesheti-Kobi road and tunnel section in Georgia’s north, with the section forming a part of the North-South corridor in the central part of the country.
The first 2 km two-lane section of the Rikoti Highway, a mountain pass which divides Georgia into its eastern and western parts, has opened today, announces the Ministry of Infrastructure. Georgian Infrastructure Minister Irakli Karseladze said that currently traffic is open on two lanes of a 2 km four-lane section, while the construction of a parallel two-lane road is underway.
The first 2.5 km two-lane section of the Rikoti Highway, a mountain pass which divides Georgia into its eastern and western parts, will open this fall, announces Georgian Infrastructure Minister Irakli Karseladze. He said that 70-80% of the Rikoti Pass project is in the active construction phase.
The large-scale and technologically advanced, “unprecedented”, infrastructural projects are extremely important. Proper infrastructure is an “additional push” for the current economic growth of Georgia, the country’s infrastructure minister Irakli Karseladze said on Sunday.